Galbally et al. (2012) writes “Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is a rare but potentially life-threatening neonatal condition. Several authors have suggested that late pregnancy exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may increase the risk of PPHN. This association has been investigated in seven published studies that have shown mixed findings based on diverse methods. Several methodological limitations may account for the diversity of findings, which include, in some studies, a lack of control for well established risk factors for PPHN. The methodological improvement in the most recent study tentatively suggests that infants prenatally exposed to SSRIs are approximately twice as likely to suffer PPHN. Further research on the biological mechanisms involved is required. Clinicians should consider late pregnancy exposure to SSRIs as one of several possible risks for PPHN, which has implications for both prescribing SSRIs to pregnant women and for neonatal care of SSRI-exposed infants.”

If you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a birth defect or who faced adverse birth outcomes, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the compassion, experience, and resources required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

Over the past several decades, drugs like Prozac and Zoloft have come under fire over a connection to birth defects (and host of other negative consequences related to SSRI use in pregnancy). Recently, I came across a piece by L.E. Grzeskowiak et al. (2012) published in Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology titled “Neonatal outcomes after late-gestation exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.”. This team of researchers from Adelaide (Australia) “aimed to investigate neonatal outcomes after prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during late-gestation” via a retrospective cohort study with “records from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network in South Australia, Australia, including the Perinatal Statistics Collection and the Hospital Pharmacy Dispensing Records.”

After a great deal of statistical work, results showed “Two hundred twenty-one women received a dispensing for an SSRI during pregnancy, 1566 had a psychiatric illness but did not receive a dispensing for an SSRI, and 32,004 did not have a psychiatric illness and did not receive a dispensing for an SSRI. Compared to infants of women with a psychiatric illness but no SSRI use, infants of women exposed to SSRIs had an increased risk of preterm delivery (adjusted OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.83-3.93), low birth weight (adjusted OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.31-3.91), admission to hospital (adjusted OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.39-2.65), and length of hospital stay longer than 3 days (adjusted OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.11-3.36) but not small-for-gestational age (adjusted OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.65-1.94). Psychiatric illness but no SSRI use during pregnancy was only associated with an increased likelihood of neonatal hospital admission (adjusted OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.07-1.38).”

This means that pregnancies in which mothers used SSRIs were 2.68 times as likely to end prematurely, 2.26 times as likely to result in a child of low birth weight, and 92% more likely to require hospitalization for the newborn. This team also found that most of these adverse consequences were not the result of maternal psychiatric condition but rather maternal medication status.

Grzeskowiak et al. (2012) concluded that “these results add to the growing body of evidence of an association between SSRI exposure during pregnancy and a range of adverse neonatal outcomes”. Since so many women have used SSRIs unaware of these risks due to failure to warn on the part of SSRI manufacturers, SSRI birth defect lawsuits have been filed in droves in recent years.

If you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who faced neonatal complications, your family may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the compassion, resources, and experience required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

The team writes, “Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed drugs that are present in sewage effluents and surface waters. The objective of the present study was to determine whether low environmentally relevant concentrations of the SSRIs fluoxetine and sertraline could impair growth and development in tadpoles of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) and to evaluate if such effects may be caused by a disruption of the neuroendocrine system.”

Results showed that “Tadpoles were exposed to SSRIs at concentrations of 0.1, 1, and 10 microg/L for 70 d throughout metamorphosis. … Tadpoles exposed to fluoxetine (10 microg/L) and sertraline (0.1, 1, and 10 microg/L) exhibited reduced growth at metamorphosis. Tadpoles exposed to sertraline (0.1 and 1 microg/L) exhibited an acceleration of development as indicated by an increase in the time to tail resorption.”

Conners believes that “The effects of SSRIs on growth and development in tadpoles were likely driven by reduced food intake,” because “Reduced feeding rates were observed in SSRI-exposed tadpoles, and nutritional status can influence growth and development in amphibians via effects on the neuroendocrine system.”

Importantly, it is noted that only Zoloft (sertraline) “was capable of causing developmental toxicity in tadpoles at environmentally relevant concentrations.” As such, the team concluded that “These data warrant additional research to characterize the risks to human health and wildlife from pharmaceutical exposures.”

In 2009, S. Alwan and J.M. Friedman, a research duo from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, published a study titled “Safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in pregnancy.” in CNS Drugs that provided important insight into the link between gestational exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs (such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft) and serious congenital malformations.

Because it’s written in plain English and not-so-scientific terms, I have included the abstract below:

“Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are among the most commonly used medications, with a prescription frequency of 2.3% in pregnant women. Although most babies born to women who take SSRIs during pregnancy are normal, there is accumulating evidence that maternal SSRI treatment during pregnancy may cause adverse reproductive outcomes.

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Maternal SSRI treatment during the first trimester has been implicated in increased risks of birth defects, specifically cardiac abnormalities, in the infant, whereas third-trimester treatment has been linked to various neonatal complications, including symptoms of neonatal withdrawal and toxicity, prematurity, low birth weight and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Although data on neurobehavioural and long-term cognitive problems among children of women who were treated with SSRIs during pregnancy remain limited, the possibility of such functional abnormalities is an additional concern.

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On the other hand, untreated maternal depression also carries serious risks for both the mother and the baby, and SSRIs are one of the best available treatments. Thus, pregnant women who require treatment for depression and their physicians often face a difficult choice regarding the use of SSRIs.”

While untreated maternal depression does in fact constitute a serious problem, it is of utmost concern that expecting mothers make informed decisions regarding drug use during pregnancy. And because the manufacturers of many SSRI drugs have failed time and again to adequately inform women of these risks, a number of SSRI birth defect lawsuits have been filed.

If you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

In non-scientific terms, the researchers were saying that studies looking back over groups that used Zoloft in pregnancy showed a link to birth defects, and that the present study’s hypothesis was that Zoloft exposure inhibits full development of the left ventricle of the heart. This makes the heart work harder to circulate blood, resulting in a higher heart rate.

As such, the team concluded that “Neonatal sertraline exposure causes long-term changes in cardiac morphology and physiology.” (emphasis added)

Because so many women have used Zoloft and other SSRIs during pregnancy unaware of the risk for heart defects, a number of Zoloft® birth defects lawsuits have been filed. If you or a loved one used Zoloft and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of Zoloft® birth defects lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

“We describe the occurrence of marked jitteriness and an enhanced startle response in a term infant after being exposed to sertraline in utero. An umbilical cord blood sample taken at the time of birth showed a sertraline concentration (<10 ng/mL) below the reference range. On the third day during the peak of the symptoms, sertraline plasma concentration was <10 ng/mL, while his serotonin level (6 ng/mL) was below the reference range. The neurologic symptoms resolved by the fifth day. To date, there are no reports of transient neonatal jitteriness with maternal use of sertraline documented with low cord and neonatal plasma samples consistent with withdrawal syndrome.”

Because so many women have used Zoloft during pregnancy unaware of the risks for Zoloft birth defects, a great number of Zoloft® birth defects lawsuits have been filed. If you or a loved one used Zoloft and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of Zoloft® birth defects lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

Studying mice, the team found that “Exposure of mouse embryos in whole embryo culture to sertraline, at a concentration (10 microM) which produced no evidence of general embryotoxicity, caused craniofacial malformations consistent with direct action at 5-HT uptake sites. Two other 5-HT uptake inhibitors, fluoxetine and amitriptyline, produced similar defects.”

Because so many women have used SSRIs unaware of the risks associated with gestational exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a number of SSRI lawsuits have been filed.

If you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

The team writes “We investigated placental transfer and neurobehavioural effects in neonates exposed to citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine or sertraline (SSRI’s), or to venlafaxine (an SNRI)” and states that “Women receiving antidepressants during pregnancy and their neonates were studied. Cord and maternal drug concentrations were measured at birth and in the neonates plasma on day 3. Neonates were also assessed using a range of neurobehavioral tests and compared to controls.”

Results showed that “Neonatal abstinence scores were significantly higher (p<0.05) in exposed infants than controls on day 1. Brazelton scores for habituation, social-interactive, motor and autonomic clusters, and serotonin scores were significantly greater (p<0.05) in exposed infants.” Accordingly, Rampono et al. (2009) concluded that “Transfer of SSRIs and SNRIs across the placenta was substantial.”

Because so many expecting mothers have used these drugs unaware of the risk for perinatal complications, adverse birth outcomes, or congenital malformations, a number of SSRI birth defect lawsuits have been filed.

If you or a loved one used SSRIs and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of SSRI birth defect lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

In a 2013 edition of Fetal and Pediatric Pathology, an article by G. Eleftheriou et al., titled “Neonatal toxicity following maternal citalopram treatment.”, important insight is given into the link between adverse birth outcomes and neonatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs. In this case, the focus was on Celexa. The team writes: “Late gestational exposure to citalopram, may be associated with a neonatal toxicity syndrome with immediate onset at birth or soon after birth and sometimes may be mistaken for neonatal withdrawal syndrome.”

Studying a single case of prenatal Celexa (citalopram) exposure, the team found that “Fifteen minutes after birth, the baby became hypertonic”, and concludes that “Neonatal serotonin toxicity due to citalopram seems the most likely mechanism”.

In this study, “The effects of in utero exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI, including fluoxetine, sertraline, and citalopram) were examined by comparing cord blood 5-HT levels in exposed and unexposed newborns.” Results demonstrated that “although platelet 5-HT is low at birth, values quickly increase and stabilize at near-adult levels by 1 mo of age. Gestational exposure to SSRI appears to substantially reduce platelet 5-HT uptake in the fetus, strongly suggesting that such exposure has important physiologic effects.” (emphasis added)

Published in the August, 2002 edition of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, an article by a Finnish team of researchers led by T. Heikkinen, titled “Citalopram in pregnancy and lactation.” makes brief but important mention of the danger of prenatal exposure to Celexa and other SSRI drugs. Studying only 11 mothers who used Celexa while pregnant and comparing them to 10 control mother-child sets, the results of this study are inherently weak. Nonetheless, the team acknowledges that “maternal therapeutic drug monitoring of citalopram should be recommended to minimize fetal exposure”.

If you or a loved one used Celexa or another SSRI during pregnancy and gave birth to a child with a congenital malformation or who had perinatal complications, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation. For a free, no-obligation case consultation, contact our team of Celexa® birth defects lawyers at the information provided below. We have the experience, resources, and skills required to win the justice you deserve. Call today and see how we can help.

Studies have shown that women suffering from depression during pregnancy can put the child at risk of developing malformations. As such, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are most commonly prescribed to the mother to avoid such complications. Unfortunately, using these drugs during pregnancy may also put the child at risk of malformations. To date, the research is still inconsistent in illustrating a causal link between pregnant women using SSRI’s and malformations of the child, but the association is clear.

Databases were searched from 1990 to 2012, in order to collect studies to include in this meta-analysis. The studies investigated the outcomes of pregnancies following exposure to any “therapeutic dosage” of any SSRI including fluoxetine, paroxetine, citalopram, escitalopram, sertraline, and fluvoxamine. The outcomes considered were spontaneous abortion, major malformations, cardiovascular malformations, and minor malformations. The results of the meta-analysis revealed odds ratio values of 1.87 (95% CI: 1.5 to 2.33, P< 0.0001) for spontaneous abortion, 1.272 (95% CI: 1.098 to 1.474, P = 0.0014) for major malformations, 1.192 (95% CI: 0.39 to 3.644, P= 0.7578) for cardiovascular malformations, and 1.36 (95% CI: 0.61 to 3.04, P= 0.4498) for minor malformations. After considering the data, the authors stated “The results demonstrated that SSRIs increase the risk of spontaneous abortion and major malformations during pregnancy while they don’t increase the risk of cardiovascular malformations and minor malformations. Our previous meta-analysis only showed an increase in the risk of spontaneous abortion following the use of SSRIs during pregnancy.” The authors go on to explain that the differing conclusions of the meta-analyses may be due to an increase in the number of studies included and/or the addition of two new SSRIs (citalopram and escitalopram).

Due to the fact that many women have used SSRI during pregnancy unaware of the risks associated with their use, a number of SSRI birth defect lawsuits have been filed. If you or a loved one used SSRIs during pregnancy and your child was born with a congenital malformation, please do not hesitate to contact our team of SSRI birth defects lawyers at the information provided below. We have the skills, resources, and experience required to win the justice you deserve.

About this Blog

This blog chronicles legal and scientific news relating to personal injuries caused by defective drugs and medical devices. It is published by injury lawyer Justinian C. Lane, an attorney who takes a personal interest in each of his clients’ cases.